“Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this city, spend a year there, do business, and make a profit; whereas you do not know what will be tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Jacob 4:13-14 Plans…plans…plans, most Americans have some sort of plan, goal or objective. Yet take a moment to realize that without Jesus as your Savior, it doesn’t matter whether you succeed at any such plans. America is a busy place, one that is fueled by endless consumer spending, often time that spending is directly related to being busy. Having been in restaurant management off and on for years, busyness results in jobs. Handing out food on the other side of the counter to endless people could not be done if they all had the time to make a lunch or dinner at home. Coffee shops would not be on every block corner if there was time for people to enjoy a cup in the morning. Children take up time or at least should. As they get older parents often consider activities that they would like their children to participate in and things that they would like their children to learn, such as instruments. While there is nothing necessarily wrong with participating in such activities, just as there is nothing wrong with grabbing a bite to eat, which oftentimes can be very affordable if chosen wisely, there is once again the aspect of whether or not parents take the time to ensure that their...

There is a doctrine missing from most of today’s so-called churches, far and few include the doctrine of repentance that is NECESSARY for Salvation. A half truth is still not the truth, it is still a lie. Simply believing in Jesus and acknowledging that He is the Son of God who died on the Cross for your sins is not enough, you must also repent of your sins. “You believe that God is One. You do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder.” Jacob (James) 2:19 repent To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something one has done or left undone. To change the mind in consequences of the inconvenience or injury done by past conduct. In theology, to feel such sorrow for sin as leads to amendment of life; to be penitent; to grieve over one’s past life, and to seek forgiveness for sin, with a determination to lead a new life. Webster’s Universities Dictionary of the English Language, Webster, 1942 Jesus died on the Cross for our sins. He is able to forgive us for all of our sins and make you a new creature. You must repent and believe into Jesus. “In those days John the Immerser came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has drawn near!” Matthew 3:1-2 “Therefore bring forth fruits worthy of repentance…” Matthew 3:9 “But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:13 “I did not...

Troubled times appear in print, online and on television to viewers nationwide through many media outlets. Not only is the country beginning to be in an uproar about the current presidential candidates, but the outcry is a culmination of many decades of political strife in this country. Ofttimes the root of the problem is that America has not molded to the needs of this ideology or that of different liberal viewpoints. What makes a country great and was America ever great? When people think of greatness the thought that comes to mind is that there is easy money to be made, or for others free handouts from the government, either way the basis is often money. While there are certainly liberal social agendas that get pushed across this country by the extreme fringes of society, if one were to surmise that the country could be made great again, that would be assuming that at one point the country was great. After all can something be made great again if it was not great at one point in time? After World War 2 this country saw an outpouring of economic growth that was unprecedented in modern societies. The manufacturing of the United States was to be desired by countries around the world. The hardworking people of the United States were an envy to others who could not find their opportunity in their home country. People flocked to the United States as immigrants from every corner of the earth. Suburban communities popped up all over across the United States and the American Dream, as it is called, became the...

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?” 2nd Corinthians 2:15-16 Have we as a society become so complex, so manipulated, so burdened by our own prisons that most can not possibly see the simplicity that is in Christ? I would equate the situation of America like that of an apartment complex meeting trying to solve how to fix the darkness in the hallway. As the meeting is ongoing there is much debate back and forth on how to solve the problem. The meeting drags out days with finally it being decided that the light bulb is burnt out and needs to be tended to. One man suggests that he has some welding tools and perhaps if another can put a small incision into the side of the bulb he can fix the broken filament. Another suggests that the bulb be carefully opened and tritium gas be put inside, perhaps the glow will provide enough light to get by. One resident suggests pointing a flashlight towards the bulb to give it the appearance of operating and casting light, then they can continue on with there business. After much debate, finally the newest member of the apartment community provides an extra night light for the hallway. The light is red, but the residents are now able to function and begin to build their community strong...

The cultural of the world constantly changes and that of those who live in the United States of America see new trends on a constant basis. One who is trendy tends to be one who follows the current trend or influence, fashion and ideologies. For years I have tried to figure out how society can be so wrong and the collective, hive-mind mentality that goes behind that. Ask anyone nowadays and they will tell you that families have fallen apart, lives are being destroyed, people are more alienated from normal forms of conversation and have become more distanced in terms of relationships, despite new forms of communication that allow for constant status updating, connecting to one another through social media and an onslaught of instant notification through text messaging, email, cellular phones and other venues. Yet with all of these options at our fingertips, a true Believer can see these things and also see the amount of sin that society engages in as a whole. They willingly seem to love things that are contrary to God and furthermore purport through their trendy actions that nothing is wrong with the way they behave. They are without God, not only do their actions prove it, but by their actions they prove that they are brute beasts. Harsh? There are two passages of Scripture that has long spoke to my heart about today’s society. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,...